Merry Christmas Everyone!

Merry Christmas everyone!! I was actually hoping on posting this in the afternoon but I took waaaaaayyy too many photos and it is taking me forever to edit them! I hope everyone had a great holiday. Yesterday we spend Christmas with my mom's side of the family, and we don't see my dad's side for another few days, so Christmas itself was a rather quiet day spent around home. It was rather lovely just lounging about, in my new pajamas, looking at all my presents, drinking some fancy new tea and eating violet creams (these were a Christmas gift. I'd never had any before but I am officially in love!).

Warning, this post is a little picture heavy...

Christmas Eve:

These are soooo yummy. Recipe found here. I used white chocolate instead of icing
so they were easier to transport.  These snowflakes are giants!
We had to split one cookie between about 3 people!

Chocolate candy cane hearts.  I found the idea somewhere on Pinterest...
They look really good but were a little difficult to eat. 

Not what I was originally planning on wearing, but it was very comfy and warm.
The red peaking out is actually a Victorian style petticoat that I have hiked up to wear as sort of a slip.
The belt is part of the dress, which I have threaded through the space between two buttons. 

 Christmas Day:

My new nightgown set! I actually finished sewing it about a month ago but I was saving
it to wear on Christmas morning.  The pattern I used is actually the Vintage Vogue
 reprint of a 1930's evening gown and jacket, but I thought it made a lovely loungewear set. 

And now the presents! I didn't take pictures of everything but here are some of the more "vintagey" items. I used the handmade quilt I got as a backdrop for these photos. 

This is a stunning Edwardian brooch my parents bought me (which I picked out)

Signed copy of Maureen Jennings new book (she wrote the Murdoch Mysteries series).
 My mom bought this for me  when we went to her book signing a month ago. 

The only two seasons of I Dream of Jeannie I was missing! I now have every episode :)

Some cute pendants (that will soon be earrings) from Michael's new "Deco Chic" line of
jewellery making supplies. 

Stunning book of Art Deco illustrations

Four sewing books and one hairdressing book. All are reprints of original 1920's and 1930's books.
They are just fabulous!!

Gramophone sticky notes!

 The next few gifts were a complete surprise. They are all from my grandmother and are all family heirlooms or things she has bought over the years. I am definitely going to cherish these forever!

Not sure how old this one is, but my grandma bought it on a trip to Scotland. 

Also a piece bought by my grandma.

Also bought by my grandmother on a trip to Scotland. 

My grandfather wedding ring from 1947. The inside is engraved with the date and my grandparents names.

Beautiful ring that belonged to my great-grandmother. 

A pair of earrings from the 1800's (in their original box!)

I hope everyone has as good as Christmas (or whatever you celebrate) as I did. 

Happy Holidays!!

That's All

Scandinavian Cookbook

After a rather horrific house buying adventure (in the end nothing was purchased and it was much too complicated to explain here), I have been in need for some comfort food. I've been flipping through my cookbooks looking for inspiration, and possible Christmas food ideas, when I stumbled across this Scandinavian cookbook. It's from 1956 and belonged to my grandmother. Her grandparents were Norwegian and she was quite proud of her heritage. 

Below I've posted a few of the recipes that relate to Christmas. There are so many I want to try, but I haven't had a chance yet. If anyone makes these I would love to know how they turned out! 

(click to enlarge)

What are you baking for the holidays?

That's All.

Christmas Party Outfit

Last night was my annual Christmas party with some of my friends from high school. We all go to different universities so we rarely get to see each other. It was really nice catching up with everyone. No one else every dresses up, but I am always looking for an excuse to put on a nice dress.

Dress: 1950's Jonathan Logan Dress from an antique store in Orono
Scarf: A gift from my mother

Earrings: Red bow mini Christmas ornaments I stuck on earring hooks

I wasn't expecting any presents from my friends but a few people brought me a lot chocolate. I will be lucky if I can still fit into my dresses by the new year! One of my oldest friends (we have known each other since we were about 4 years old) also completely surprised me by giving me this darling teacup! I realised after my last post that I had completely forgotten to share with you my favourite Christmas present. My mother passed down this old family ring. During the summer she let me look at all the old family rings and presented me with my favourite for Christmas! Yes it is a mans ring. I have man hands and none of the women's rings would fit...
I hope everyone is having a lovely holiday! I have a few posts planned but those will have to wait until I have enough time to gather pictures.

That's All.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!!

I hope everyone's holiday is going well. I am finally enjoying a much needed rest. Yesterday we hosted the Christmas celebration for my moms side of the family. We were supposed to be visiting my dads side of the family on boxing day, but due to my uncles work schedule, we are no longer sure when we will get to see them.

Anyways, yesterday went better than expected. My cousin was recently married, with means there was a lot more people to entertain than normal. After scrambling to try and find enough table settings, chairs, and food for about 11 people, we settled down to a nice evening of chit-chat and food.

I was going to wear my Grandmothers old dress but due to fear of my uncles and cousins dogs accidentally tearing extremely delicate fabric I decided instead to wear this 1950s dress from Adelines Attic (and avoid the dogs as much as possible).

Not enough matching plates? A neat trick is to use a few plain white ones and place a small plate from the main set on top. This allows for a cohesive look, without needing to buy new plates!

I am always in charge of dessert making. This year I did a Gingerbread cake with Eggnog sauce, a Cherry Candy Cane Jello dessert (for lactose intolerant family members), and various other little chocolate goodies.

My parents, grandmother and I gathered around the tree to open our presents this morning. I got some lovely things (including some vintage dresses!). Here is a quick snapshot of a few things and one of the lovely wrapped gifts. I went eco-friendly this year and wrapped all my gifts in magazine pages.

Now I am off to stuff my face with left over goodies. This has been a very lazy Christmas day, and I couldn't have asked for a better present.

That's All.

Winter Mode and Christmas Crafts

The last few days have been cold and blustery. Dresses have not been an option for school, so I have slipped into "winter mode" in terms of my clothing choices. This is a typical outfit, not actually vintage but rather vintage inspired:

Top: Elsa's (She owned a great little store in my home town but it retired now)

Wool Pants: Winners

Flower: Made by Me

Lipstick: Ruby Woo by MAC (I love this colour!)

It is getting closer and closer to Christmas everyday! I am getting quite excited and have already started making some new decorations. I have a lot more on my "to-make" list but that requires a trip to the craft store. I am still in the process of making some of these, so this is just a little sneak peak. Martha Stewart's website really does have the best Christmas craft ideas. Most of the above crafts were based on tutorials from there.

On the sidebar of my blog, you may notice I have started a poll. I would love if you could take a second and vote on what type of posts you like to see here. Just leave me a comment if you have any other suggestions. I write this blog because I enjoy doing so, but it is nice to know what people want to see more of :)

That's All.